The European social partners on childcare have written a joint letter tothe European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and EqualOpportunities voicing their concerns.
UK organisations signed up include the TUC as part of the European TradeUnion Confederation (ETUC) and the Confederation of British Industry aspart of BusinessEurope. Targets on childcare provision for 33 per centof under-threes and 90 per cent of three- to six-year-olds by 2010 wereset at a European Council meeting in Barcelona in 2002.
They agreed that affordable, accessible childcare was crucial inpromoting women's participation in the labour market and in narrowingthe gender pay gap.
Ian Murray, TUC senior policy officer, said, 'One of the key issues forthe UK is how to raise the status and wage levels of its childcareworkforce, which are low in comparison to other European countries.'
